Sunday, November 2, 2008

No matter who you vote for, it matters that you vote. Voting is a serious responsibility, and a few minutes or hours of your time is a small price to pay for the freedom provided you by a democratic society.

It's not the big elections that bother me, though... I worry about the small ones. Alderman, Councilwoman, county executive, judges, sheriffs... you need to get out to ALL of those elections, and you need to make certain you are informed about the candidates.

I'll be out on Tuesday morning, with my kid, standing in line to vote, and I'll write him an excuse if we're late to school because of it.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Someone recently asked me if, I as a doula would support a woman through an abortion. I've had to think seriously about that. Where do my personal beliefs have to end, to follow my calling? Do I support a woman having a birth related procedure that I do not believe is right? Does that include having an epidural? An elective c-section? An abortion? Not choosing to breast feed? Circumcising her son ... Or her daughter? Is my practice going to be "woman -centered" or "baby -centered" and are the two mutually exclusive?I've decided to take the "Your Body, your baby, your choices" stance. As long as you have taken the time to inform yourself about your options, I will support you in your choices. I will help you to gather information, I will give you my opinion if you ask for it, and I will make sure you are prepared to defend unpopular decisions to others, if you wish. I won't sugar coat things for you, and I will try to make certain the articles that I refer you to are as unbiased as possible. Failing that, I will try to mace certain that you at least receive both sides of the issue.

The pro-lifers are right about one thing: Abortion kills babies. We cannot sugar coat this, it needs to be out there in black and white. That pregnancy, if allowed to reach it's natural conclusion, will result in a baby. Where we run into problems is at the point where people start putting the rights of a potential baby over the rights of an existing woman. Taken to an extreme, protecting "The rights of the fetus" could eventually compel every woman to be taken into custody the moment she tests positive for pregnancy, kept in custody until the pregnancy reaches full term, and delivered by a cesarean section.

For the record, I am firmly pro-choice. Your choices do not have to be the same as mine. I chose to disapprove of abortions as birth control. I believe that if your primary method of birth control fails, there is a reason for that. There are other options available to you if you choose not to raise a child that you have conceived and there are differences in choosing to abort a child who cannot survive outside the womb, and one who can. There are VALID reasons to want an abortion, and I do not need to know why you have made the choice you have made, only that you have explored all of the options open to you, before making your decision. (I will happily listen if you feel you need to explain your choice!)

That being said, if you have decided for whatever reason to terminate your pregnancy, I would be willing to be there to support you before, during and after your procedure.

Monday, September 8, 2008

I got my wish last night. Dad's home on leave from Afghanistan. He has 18 days before he has to return. On Sunday morning, mom's bag broke, spontaneously. After 21 hours of HARD labor (baby was posterior, and asynclitic) he's here. And Daddy still has 13 days of leave left, to get to know his son.

Grandma and great grandma were there- and were fantastic at anticipating mom's needs, from a sip of water, to freshening her makeup.

Mom and Dad were AMAZING. He was her rock, and she had a peaceful, mostly non interventitive birth. A little Pit, towards the end, because she was completely exhausted, but no pain medication at all, and none of the "thrashing about, screaming, sobbing" that you see on TV.

If mom had been less determined, or dad had wavered in supporting her, this would have been a c-section. It wasn't.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Waiting for a lot of things right now... a call from my client saying her hubby is home, a call from MY hubby saying he's coming home (at the cabin, they had an ADVENTURE...) another client..... morning....labor to start... labor to end.... the house to sell.... calls from friends....

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Well-Rounded Maternity Center & C.A.R.E. Network are sponsoring this event to raise awareness about the postpartum depression epidemic that affects 10 - 20% of birthing women in the US. The seminar is a way for both birth professionals (nurses, midwives, doulas, lactation consultants, etc.) and women in the childbearing years to get information from local experts about the causes, symptoms and treatments for postpartum mood disorders, including the growing number of women who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder resulting from a traumatic birth experience.

As part of the seminar, we will be presenting a segment of the "Safe Motherhood Quilt." Like the AIDS quilt of years ago, this quilt honors women who were lost due to childbirth-related causes. We will be adding a quilt square to remember Jennifer Mudd Houghtaling of Oak Creek who tragically and needlessly ended her life months following the birth of her son due to postpartum psychosis.

My newest client is an absolute sweetheart, and we're becoming good friends. Her only real worry about this birth (her first) is that baby waits till Daddy comes home.... He's overseas on Military duty, and due home at the end of this week.

We're all just praying that he gets home in time to meet his son on his birthday!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I hate to admit it, but I am not the most organized person on the planet. It looks like,while preparing for our move, I shredded some documents I needed for certification.... Doc's I can't replace, because the family in question has moved.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

I wasn't planning to take any clients this summer, because of the impending move, but when I got offered this one through The Doula Connection (a volunteer doula service for financially challenged women) my gut said to take her. And am I ever glad I did.

First of all , all of my clients up until now have been at one hospital in the city, and this client was at a different hospital. I REALLY like their model of care. No 4 hour nursing shifts in L&D. And despite the fact that it was a teaching hospital, and the students were a little annoying, they went to great pains to keep men out of my client's room. In fact the ONLY male besides family who was ever in her room was the Attending for the floor, and he was only there to supervise the actual delivery, he never touched her. (she is not American, and has a cultural thing about strange men)

In any case, this poor lady went through her whole labor with an urge to push. Baby was OP, and she stalled out at 5cm for nearly 8 hours, even after AROM. Once they hung the pit, my mind went to the "here we go again" place, I was certain that we were headed for a c-section, but lo and behold, in three hours she went from 5 to 10 and pushing. Only one dose of pain meds, too.

From this labor I learned that you have to have faith. Not just in God, but in birth. This mom and her husband spent most of her labor praying. They never lost their faith, even at the darkest times, even when she was tempted to give up, and to show for it that have a beautiful little princess, born just before midnight.

So I have my final birth, and In goes the paperwork for my DONA certification.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

I thought this was Important. The first three of four births I attended were Cesarean births.

"Desirre Andrews CCCE, LCCE, CLD, CLE"

Wed Apr 2, 2008 7:11 am (PDT)

Please blog about it - Get the word out! April is Cesarean Awareness Month

What is Cesarean Awareness Month? An internationally recognized month ofawareness about the impact of cesarean sections on mothers, babies, andfamilies worldwide. It's about educating yourself to the pros and cons ofmajor abdominal surgery and the possibilities for healthy birth afterwardsas well as educating yourself for prevention of cesarean section.

Cesarean awareness is for mothers who are expecting or who might choose tobe in the future. It's for daughters who don't realize what choices arebeing taken away from them. It's for scientists studying the effects ofcesareans and how birth impacts our lives. It's for grandmothers who won'tbe having more children but are questioning the abdominal pains andadhesions causing damage 30 years after their cesareans.

CESAREANS are serious. There is no need for a 'catchy phrase' to tell usthat this is a mainstream problem. It affects everyone. One in threeAmerican women every year have surgery to bring their babies into the world.These women have lifelong health effects, impacting the families that arehelping them in their healing, impacting other families through healthcarecosts and policies, and bringing back those same lifelong health effects tothe children they bring into this world.

Be aware. Read. Learn. Ask questions. Get informed consent. Be your ownadvocate for the information you need to know.